Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00

[Mallard60022]

Beautiful work by an obviously well trained a disciplined electrician/modeller. Piece of art in itself that is.

Phil

[St Enodoc]

Beautiful work by an obviously well trained a disciplined electrician/modeller. Piece of art in itself that is.

Phil

Thanks Phil, although I wouldn't call myself an artist (some would call me a p*ss artist though). I'm OK with anything that has straight lines and square corners, but beyond that I've no chance. I think Pugin, Ruskin and Morris were on the mark with Arts and Crafts. All I've done is to craft the frame by putting the bits together. The credit for any Art goes to the designer, Harold Fanshawe at Modratec.

[St Enodoc]

Today was the sort of day I enjoy, when everything goes well and I actually finish off something.

 

First, I wired up the Eemecks to their corresponding plug, so Porthmellyn Road lever frame itself is now complete. The remaining work is all on the "layout" side of the 12-way connectors.

 

Next, I decided to lay the first yard of each of the Chapel Sidings. That's as far as I can go without building the baseboard extension at the front of Penzance, which will allow each siding to be extended by approximately another yard. That will provide plenty of storage for the Pentowan branch carriage sets.

 

 

 

The ever-faithful Hornby-Dublo buffer stops came into play again.

 

Before Mike the Stationmaster has a conniption, I must point out that the two sidings will be trapped, with a ground disc controlling their exit. As with No 1 Spur, I will wait until we have used the sidings a few times before deciding exactly where the safety points and signal will go.

 

Talking of using the sidings, the obvious thing to do in the short term is to use them to emulate the future Wheal Veronica china-clay dries on the branch at St Enodoc. The dries will be served by short trains of clay tips, powered by light pannier tanks due to weight restrictions. Consequently, I did a little bit of testing to see how this worked out.

 

The first train of the day is the 0520 St Blazey - Wheal Veronica empties, seen here crossing Nancegwithey Viaduct behind 1664. The train is Short Clay 1 (SC1), identifiable by the single fitted wagon.

 

After running round using Porthmellyn Road Loop and the main line, 1664 has propelled SC1 into Chapel Siding 2.

 

After collecting SC2 (two fitted wagons) from Chapel Siding 1, 1664 propels it into siding 2 to couple the brake van...

 

...before moving back to the Loop ready for departure as the 1250 fulls.

 

After waiting for a path on the main line, 1664 heads back across Nancegwithey Viaduct towards St Blazey.

 

Time permitting, I will try to add a couple of these short clay workings to the sequence before the next running session in three weeks' time.

Edited July 19, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[St Enodoc]

Thanks Phil, although I wouldn't call myself an artist (some would call me a p*ss artist though). I'm OK with anything that has straight lines and square corners, but beyond that I've no chance. I think Pugin, Ruskin and Morris were on the mark with Arts and Crafts. All I've done is to craft the frame by putting the bits together. The credit for any Art goes to the designer, Harold Fanshawe at Modratec.

Hey Grahame, I hope you weren't "agreeing" with the bit in brackets...

[St Enodoc]

I didn't do much in the railway room this weekend as I was busy doing a number of other things, not least our monthly BRMA meeting at Charles's yesterday. Very enjoyable.

 

I did some desk-based work though, which revolved around updating the schedule to include the four extra short clay trains. I know that a number of you like such things, so here it is:

 

wtt mid cornwall 1952-1957-1958 draft 9 initial plus railbus, clay master.xls

 

When I finally went out to the railway room this afternoon I loaded the new train describer file on to the computer, ready for the next running session in a fortnight. I also changed out the Tortoise on 31A points for a Cobalt, so that I can let Rodney have back the two Tortoises that he loaned me last year.

 

There was still a little time left, so I used it productively by laying the first two yards of Paddington Loops 8 to 13.

 

Here they are, with the spare locos parked on them temporarily so that I can lay the remaining two-and-a bit yards another time. After that I'll fit the droppers and feeders then move spare stock across from Penzance before laying Penzance loops 2 to 7 in the same way.

 

All these loops will sit in splendid isolation until the points are laid to connect them to the rest of the layout. Some of these points will come from the old St Enodoc layout but about a third of them will be new build. That will all wait until I finish the three-quarter scissors to complete tracklaying at Porthmellyn Road.

Edited July 19, 2023 by St Enodoc
images restored

[The Stationmaster]

I do like that WTT file - a top notch example of a way to do it for a working layout which has a healthy mix of train types and the work they will perform at various stations plus the balances for the stock etc.

[St Enodoc]

I do like that WTT file - a top notch example of a way to do it for a working layout which has a healthy mix of train types and the work they will perform at various stations plus the balances for the stock etc.

Thanks Mike. As you can tell, it's derived from a much larger file that I update as I add more track and hence more trains. If you're interested I'll PM you a copy of the full version - that will of course appear here eventually but not for a few years yet.

[nerron]

John,

How appropriate that I am reading your update.from The Atlantic Hotel in Newquay having just returned from a quick visit to the Kernow Model Centre.So called heat wave conditions here since we arrived in the UK on June 22

[brianusa]

Good to see something on top of the layout, even I can recognise!

 

Brian.

[St Enodoc]

Good to see something on top of the layout, even I can recognise!

 

Brian.

I need another clue, Brian!

[St Enodoc]

John,

How appropriate that I am reading your update.from The Atlantic Hotel in Newquay having just returned from a quick visit to the Kernow Model Centre.So called heat wave conditions here since we arrived in the UK on June 22

Very nice Ron. Just a short walk from Towan Head, which is where Pentowan, the name of my fictitious version of Newquay, comes from.

 

I suppose that if it's a heatwave the temperature must have crept out of the 20s...

[Barry O]

Been up to 30 here but very humid. Not too good for long days of cricket umpiring but very nice.

[The Stationmaster]

We've been getting up around the 28C mark temperature wise and to be  blunt it feels a darn sight hotter than Sydney did at 42C, but it's well behind inland QLD where hot meant bl**dy hot.  Lithgow on a sunny Saturday afternoon strangely didn't feel as hot but i was more interested in trying to find somewhere to have a bit of grub than worry about the temperature.

[Killybegs]

My wife is in Melbourne at the moment and says it's b****y cold.

[Jesse Sim]

Been up to 30 here but very humid. Not too good for long days of cricket umpiring but very nice.

30 is a beautiful day, not even enough to break a sweat for us!

 

See you very soon Baz! 

[Jesse Sim]

Not sure if I'll make it to the running session as it's my last weekend until my 5 week trip, I'll try my best, as always. 

 

Looking good John, your wiring neatness makes my head hurt. 

[DougN]

Kellybegs, it's now warmer than a couple of week ago... we are getting in to double figures! As they say in Melbourne, "Don't like the weather give it 5 minutes it will change...." I have read a number of times that the academics think that Melbourne has 6 seasons. No idea of what they are though.... I just expect it to change. 

 

I also know it is getting warmer my crazy dog (see the avatar)  is sleeping outside in his kennel again.... it was too cold and he wanted to be inside. (infact he is calming down now as he is 5years old and enjoying being with the family!) 

[St Enodoc]

My wife is in Melbourne at the moment and says it's b****y cold.

 

Kellybegs, it's now warmer than a couple of week ago... we are getting in to double figures! As they say in Melbourne, "Don't like the weather give it 5 minutes it will change...." I have read a number of times that the academics think that Melbourne has 6 seasons. No idea of what they are though.... I just expect it to change. 

 

I also know it is getting warmer my crazy dog (see the avatar)  is sleeping outside in his kennel again.... it was too cold and he wanted to be inside. (infact he is calming down now as he is 5years old and enjoying being with the family!) 

Well, there must be some sort of microclimate in Blackburn, as it was 9 degrees at Tullamarine when I arrived this morning and not much better in the CBD.

[Barry O]

Well, there must be some sort of microclimate in Blackburn, as it was 9 degrees at Tullamarine when I arrived this morning and not much better in the CBD.

Hope you were wearing shorts and t shirt......

[St Enodoc]

Hope you were wearing shorts and t shirt......

Yeah, right...

[Barry O]

I have to admit to wearing my umpires coat for two matches yesterday. It was about 19°C but with a very cold wind at Ampleforth.

 

Baz

[Jesse Sim]

4 degrees out west rightnow, im thinking of strapping a portable heater to the forklift!

[DougN]

4 degrees out west rightnow, im thinking of strapping a portable heater to the forklift!

Be careful with that the extension lead gets caught on the pellets and racking!

[BWsTrains]

Well, there must be some sort of microclimate in Blackburn, as it was 9 degrees at Tullamarine when I arrived this morning and not much better in the CBD.

Not so. Down around 6C early but then warm sun so it was quite pleasant, then max for yesterday was 11.5C in Donvale, same as city, lowest max for quite some time according to Paul Higgins.

[St Enodoc]

No action in the railway room at all this weekend unfortunately. Most of yesterday was taken up with a BRMA National Committee meeting and then erecting some new dining room chairs, while today involved erecting the table that goes with the chairs. The hardest part of all that was getting the old table out through the door and into the carport, ready to be picked up by a charity.

 

Next Saturday we have a running session, which will include the short clay train for the first time (bringing us up to a total of 48 train movements compared with the 26 we had at the first of our regular sessions at the beginning of last year).